“To win both of these awards is absolutely incredible, and means so much coming from our peers, our fans and friends,” said CEO Max Schaefar. “We could not be more proud of Torchlight and of our team. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who voted and supported us.”

President and Project Lead Travis Baldree had this to say in his acceptance speech at the GDC awards: “Thanks to everyone at Runic Games, the seventeen people who took a huge leap and started with us just a little over a year ago, thanks to Perfect World for allowing us to do what we thought was the right thing to do, and thanks to everyone who played the game and enjoyed it, and thank you to everyone who nominated us.”

If you haven’t heard of Torchlight, maybe now it’s time you did. Check out Michael’s review of it and if you would like to watch the GDC and GiN awards you can stream them from the links below.

GDC Awards: http://gdc.gamespot.com/video/6253471/

GiN Awards: http://www.gameindustry.com/podcast/item.asp?id=59

Related posts:

1. New Torchlight ‘Alchemist’ Trailer
2. Torchlight Editor released
3. Torchlight: review

The Last Story is the latest RPG to be produced by the studio, founded by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, and follows in the footsteps of previous releases such as Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon.

Check out the link below for the official website to see some artworks of The Last Story as well as additional comments on the art from the project’s Director and Producer (you’ll need to be able to read Japanese).

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/slsj/column/

Related posts:

1. Starcraft II: Beta Story Mode Gameplay
2. Splinter Cell Conviction co op mode revealed
3. Blue Toad Murder Files site is go!!

At Sony’s GDC 2010 press conference the final name of their motion controller was revealed along with a slew of games. The aptly named Playstation Move will retail later this year for under $100 and will include one controller unit, one Playstation Eye, and an unannounced game. The Move will also be sold without the Playstation Eye and in an upcoming PS3 bundle.

Along with the announcement came a slew of game demos including popular retail games like Little Big Planet and SOCOM 4. Little Big Planet for Playstation Move will allow players to alternate between platforming as Sackboy or manipulating the environment via a cursor. While it was shown as more of a co-op experience in the demo, there’s a lot of potential for improved level creation via the Move controller.

SOCOM 4 was shown via live demonstration using the Playstation Move in conjunction with an additional controller. This extension featured additional buttons, an analog stick, and it was announced that it would be sold separately. As for the game itself, it looked early but solid, with some basic action and somewhat destructible environments. It was stated that the game could be played with or without the Playstation Move.

Also on display were a slew of smaller games that should look familiar to anyone who has played Wii Sports. There was archery, golf, table tennis, and a simple fighting game, not to mention the familiar visuals of a happy family jumping around in front of their couch.

One of the more unique functions of the Playstation Move is its mix of motion control and the Eye Toy. Move Party, a simple mini-game collection, matches the camera eye with the colored tip of the Move controller, allowing the game to display players on-screen holding tennis rackets and fly swatters. An Eye Pet game offered similar functionality squarely aimed at a younger demographic.

Lastly, Motion Fighters, another live demonstration, gives players the chance to participate in a motion-controlled fighting game. It seemed to require two Move controllers, and while some of the grapple moves looked fun, like most the demos shown, it was clearly still in an early state.

In many ways, the Playstation Move feels like Sony playing catch-up with the Wii rather than offering something new. Still, the integration into full-scale games like Little Big Planet and SOCOM is an exciting step towards the potential future of motion controlled games.

Related posts:

1. PS3 motion controller possibly named
2. Motion Sickness: Hoping Motion Control Doesn’t Suck in 2010
3. Little Big Planet – Pirates of the Caribbean DLC video

There have been numerous complaints – including on the official US PlayStation forum – of major screen tearing on the PS3 version of Final Fantasy XIII. This only happens when playing the game in standard definition (ie. Via a Scart lead or SD composite), but there is every reason to believe that this happens on every TV – HDTV or SDTV – and that the screen tearing occurs at completely unacceptable levels.

We have tested the issue ourselves, and found that it is indeed present when playing the game in standard definition on both HDTVs and SDTVs. For now, we are only able to confirm that the issue is present on the PS3 version.

At time of writing, Sony and Square Enix have declined to comment on the issue.

Related posts:

1. Final Fantasy XIII release date announced
2. New Final Fantasy XIII advert
3. Final Fantasy XIII: A (Not So) Cynical View

I’m really sorry if I just spoiled that for you. Genuinely. I can only assume you’re fresh out the womb if you haven’t seen it though, so I hope I’m safe from any potential attempts on my life or other types of revenge. But aren’t spoilers a funny thing?

In that example I used above the crowd waiting to see the movie booed or shouted and were angry, but why? Homer was blissfully ignorant of what he was doing. It was an accident. Accidents of this type can happen all the time. A situation like that can spring up without warning. It can be as simple as two friends talking about a new game and one saying, “Have you got to that bit yet?” and just like that something has been spoiled by accident.

For a situation where a genuine accident is to blame, forgiveness is probably the most desirable conclusion. Be it a spoiler about a book, movie or game the repercussions are the same and a mistake is a mistake. But what if it was something else? What if it was a vindictive act?

Do you have one of those types of friends? The ones that just seem to love trying to spoil things for you? I know I’ve had one and I know other people who have as well. Not just friends mind you, but strangers as well. It got me thinking about the reasons why.

Heavy Rain is a good example of a recent game to be plagued by spoiler related troubles. The game plays like an interactive movie and the big selling point is trying to work out who the killer is. Going into it with that knowledge thanks to a spoiler would tarnish the whole experience, making it largely pointless to play at all.

Perhaps inevitably then an individual, vindictive to a level that makes The Bride from Kill Bill seem normal, took to a popular PS3 forum and sent private messages to members en masse declaring who the killer was. Thankfully, I was smart enough to quarantine myself away from the internet in a secure ignorance bubble until I had played through the game, but needless to say that when I saw this I was shocked.

As misanthropic as I may be and generally negative of other people as a result, I suppose what is most shocking is the effort put into being so vindictive. It’s almost impressive, in a depressing kind of way. Is the pleasure of ruining someone’s playing experience really that enticing? That particular example creates the mental image of an Xbox 360 player disappointed at Heavy Rain’s PS3 exclusivity setting out on a quest for justice. Perhaps I’m over dramatising. Perhaps I’m laying down some flame-bait. Who knows?

Here’s a real example of vindictive game spoiling in action and the comeuppance of said actions. A friend of mine has a colleague that seems to pro-actively enjoy spoiling things. I won’t say it is fully malice to blame here since I don’t know them personally, but you can form your own opinion. A few examples of things this individual has spoiled for my friend (which I have chosen to be vague about to avoid being a hypocrite) include: the finale and plot to Mass Effect 1 and 2, the twist in InFamous, certain sections of Arkham Asylum, a surprisingly detailed synopsis of the God of War universe, every single Phoenix Wright murderer identity, and the meaning of life.

Naturally this all left my friend in a very bad mood and unfortunately due to work related needs he couldn’t distance himself from this irritating individual. Now, they say two wrongs don’t make a right and that’s probably correct, but I chose to ignore that saying in this instance as I felt this person needed to experience what they were forcing other people to go through.

I played through Heavy Rain and knew that my friend had no interest in it at all, so I offered to pass on some choice information about it to him. Yeah, I told him the killer’s identity. My friend held onto that precious piece of information, held onto it tightly until a few minutes after this pleb of a colleague of his had bought Heavy Rain. You can guess what he then did (with probably a bit too much glee to be fully justifiable or excusable).

“You just made me waste £40!” the pleb cried.

“Now you know what it feels like!” all his friends replied.

Was that mean? Yes, it was. But from this event that person might take away a lesson. A valuable lesson. To experience the disappointment, the anger, the resentment at the vindictive power a spoiler can hold over someone. Or maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll just try even harder to find the next big spoiler and get it out there first and the whole cycle will repeat itself again. Isn’t life wonderful?

I have no idea if this is actually true.

Still, going from an accident to pure hateful spite is quite a leap and there is a middle ground. Perhaps in someone’s overeagerness to talk about or even show an exciting point of a game (or other form of media) they’ll do it without taking into consideration whether or not the person wants to find out for themselves.

There’s also those who just don’t ‘get’ spoilers. They don’t see the need to warn people or understand why said people might hate them so much afterwards. Perhaps it’s to do with how much someone cares about the story? Plot certainly seems central to most spoiler sensitive subjects and how important the plot is would vary depending on the genre of game. I wouldn’t have particularly cared if what was in The Vault at the end of Borderlands was spoiled for me ahead of time for example, yet I would be annoyed if I was told the objective of the final GTA IV mission.

Someone not aware of the annoyance caused by spoilers might look at both those examples and not see any discernible difference. However, that doesn’t mean it’s right to just say what they want. It would be better to err on the side of caution and warn of potential spoilers and that way they still get to talk about whatever plot twist they want yet have given due warning to anyone who might not want to see anything like that.

Is it just down to manners in the end? The internet is as void of manners as Scotland is of non-alcoholics, so I suppose it’s no surprise that spoilers are bandied about as weapons on there all the time. But it doesn’t just happen on the internet, so that’s no excuse. If there is anything to take away from this, it would be to take into account a bit more due consideration of a fellow gamer’s feelings when openly talking about plot twists or big reveals.

Or, I suppose, you may have also learned that if you really, really wanted to tick someone off you could wield a powerful spoiler for +1D20 bonus damage and a chance at a critical hit. Someone like me for instance.

…Back to my ignorance bubble I go.

Related posts:

1. Heavy Rain: Flood of genius or a wet dog?
2. Grumpy Gurevitz: Heavy Lair
3. Heavy Rain: A Gaming Revolution?

Open world games are very good at instilling a general level of madness and carnage as it can feel as though everyone and their rabid dog is out to get you. GTA often sends wave after wave of suicidal policemen your way who appear to have no desire to experience their children growing up, and Far Cry 2 has an entire nation of people turn against you for no discernible reason.

These seem like tame experiences full of cuddling and playful nudges however, in comparison to some of the madness that a few well placed bullets can rustle up in Just Cause 2.

Square Enix released a very generous demo last week on Xbox Live, PSN and Steam which we have very busily been sinking our grappling hooks into. The taster experience gives us 30 minutes in which to completely tear up a 35 square mile desert area filled with cars, buildings, helicopters and lots of stuff that explodes.

After a quick run around the starting area to get used to the basic controls, you hurl yourself off a cliff and start an exhilarating base jump waiting for a handy reminder to open your parachute. Being complete masters of everything in gaming, on the first attempt we pushed our luck and watched powerlessly as we started slumping down the face of a cliff, landing like a sack full of dead kittens at the bottom, realising that our chute opening response times were a little off.

Spherical landing zones have always been a bad idea

Very soon we found another high spot to try a successful parachute experiment, and a well timed button press let us hang in the air safely. It was only at this point that we realised what an amazing graphical achievement Avalanche Studios has pulled off. As far as we can tell, there are no draw distances, no distant fog that shrouds the environment ahead in mystery and hardware efficiency. Being able to look over hundreds of acres of pristine tropical paradise just shows off the huge scale of this game, and really makes us want to explore the rest of the island.

It was at this point that we landed in the middle of an enemy compound and found ourselves in a firefight. The on foot combat at a basic level feels similar to Mercenaries 2, with no cover system or Resi 4 style shoulder aiming to speak of. Fighting like this is going to get you killed relatively fast. This is where the game’s central gadget, the grappling hook comes into play, and boy, does it let you play.

As well as being a handy time saver when travelling, it can also be used offensively as a melee flail, tether guards to just about anything, and it lets you shoot up to that handy vantage point, away from the beeping grenade at your feet. It’s very satisfying to get yourself out of a violent situation by tying an unfortunate guard to the back of a passing car in the blink of an eye, just to watch him get dragged off into the distance like a rubbish water skier bouncing off tarmac.

The locals don't take kindly to freestyle hitchhiking

The grapple can also be used to fling you up in to the air allowing you to open your parachute, which makes clearing high obstacles and accessing rooftops easier than flipping a pancake with two frying pans. Once you get used to the slightly fiddly controls you will find yourself pulling aerial acrobatic stunts like these with no effort, as if you were James Bond, high out of his mind on ketamine and breath mints.

Even the relatively mundane task of driving everywhere has been spiced up, with the ability from the first game of instant parachute assisted bail outs returning, letting you watch your car sail over a cliff to its fiery demise as you float back to earth with the grace of a feather holding an assault rifle.

Add to this the ability to hop between cars like stepping stones whilst at motorway cruising speeds, and the whole thing comes together to give us an unseen level of insanity that has yet to be showcased in a game.

When trying to pull helicopters out of the air, anchoring points are essential

The Just Cause 2 demo has really left us short of breath and anxious to see just what the full game can deliver. If videos and screenshots are anything to go by though, it just keeps getting madder and madder, with cars tied to helicopters for use as wrecking balls, fighter jets being boarded mid air, and unfortunate henchman becoming cosmonauts when tethered to speeding gas canisters.

Look out for this one when it is released on March 26 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

Related posts:

1. Left 4 Dead 2 Demo Impressions
2. Just Cause 2: preview
3. Just Cause 2 Demo Date Announced

Final Fantasy VII was the defining moment in an important time for gaming. The PlayStation was breaking down barriers and appealing to a far wider audience than previous home consoles, and FF7 was the high profile, AAA title that the platform needed. It’s been credited as the game that sold the PlayStation brand and is widely regarded as one of the most influential titles of all time.

Thirteen years later, and it has never really left us. From its release in 1997, we have seen a movie (Advent Children), tie-ins (Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus and Before Crisis), tech demos, cameo appearances (Ehrgeiz, Dissidia and Kingdom Hearts), a PSN re-release and countless toys, merchandise and soundtracks. Square-Enix have repeatedly tapped into the legacy and success of FF7, and understandably so. Furthermore, in the face of apparently overwhelming popular demand, they continue to tease the prospect of a remake, be it an HD polish-up or even a current generation re-imagining.

In the weeks leading up to the release of Final Fantasy XIII, Square-Enix have continued to openly address the possibility of a remake. Badgered by FF7 related questions, FF13 producer Yoshinori Kitase has spoken quite frankly about the promise and unrealistic challenges presented by a current gen rehash. He admitted that it’s something he’d love to do, but that such a project would be so time consuming that he couldn’t envision it. He stopped just short of a “no, impossible”, which was more than enough to get the internet rumour mill churning.

The Compilation of FFVII has been a mixed bag

Clearly there is still wide-spread support for a return to Gaia. But why do we yearn for it so?

Firstly, and most importantly, FF7 was platform and era defining. It clearly marked a shift in popularity and content of RPGs, and to this day fans speak of role-playing games before Square’s opus and those that came after, either lamenting the demise of the classic console RPG or celebrating the birth of a worldwide phenomenon.  It’s a point of reference for a generation of gamers and we are loath to let go of such things. It represents a shared memory from a time when gaming truly exploded onto a larger stage, when publishers finally came to realise that RPGs could be just as popular in the West as in the East.

Thanks to a huge and costly marketing campaign, the public were arguably more aware of FF7 than any title before it, RPG or otherwise. TV commercials wowed the audience with grandiose cut scenes, conveniently omitting the less polished in-game graphics. Breath-taking cut scenes would quickly become a requisite for big name RPG releases, setting the bar for any title with aspirations of mass appeal. These graphical delights necessitated that games be spread over numerous discs, and it became a badge of honour of sorts for big titles. I can recall scoffing at my single disc copy of SaGa Frontier 2, thinking it could only be a third of the game that FF7 was. It changed the way we thought about games, and has retained a grip on our collective interest ever since.

The generic yet memorable characters were easy to embrace, the battle system simple to master and its sprawling narrative struck a chord with gamers worldwide. Even to this day I can still hum the world map tune and recite some of my favourite Barrett quotes. It boasts an undeniable pedigree and no matter what the future holds, its name will remain etched in stone in the gaming pantheon.

As you may have gathered, I adore the Final Fantasy series and hold the seventh instalment in the highest of esteem, yet I have no interest in seeing a remake. Take a look at this recent quote from Yoshinori Kitase, taken from videogamer.com:

“So as the hardware develops there’s so much more that can be done for the game. Visual capabilities are up. The quality is so high right now. So in a sense I’m really interested to see this more complete form of a Final Fantasy VII portrayed more realistically with the voice and animation and all the subtle expressions there.”

For me at least, part of the appeal of FF7 was the disproportionate, anime-like character models, and I shudder to think what they would look like if given the FF13 treatment. At the very least they would lose their considerable charms. Besides, is FF7’s lasting appeal in any way related to its in-game visuals? A jump into the 21st century for technological sake only seems to miss the point entirely. As for voice acting, I’ve only ever been disappointed when muted characters have been voiced in later incarnations, so I’m far from enticed by the prospect of Barret and Red XIII being given the gift of the spoken word.

As alluded to by Kitase, a FF7 remake would require a huge investment of time and resources. Much like FF13 it would take years to complete, which could be to the detriment of other fresher and more innovative projects. Where would it end? Do we really want to see a FF7 remake before FFXV? God forbid, could we actually end up with a FF7-2? I have no interest in seeing Tifa, Cloud the drag queen, and Yuffie performing as an all-girl pop group. Seven years later and FFX-2’s Charlie’s Angels approach to the genre still has pride of place in the darkest recesses of my nightmares.

This is usually the last thing I see before waking-up screaming

For all its serious moments, FF7 was at times a very tongue-in-cheek, one might even say silly game. Some of the moments that made it great would not fit comfortably into current expectations for a big budget RPG. You have Cloud doing squats and cross-dressing, Red XIII being a talking cat, Barret and Cid’s bouts of Tourette’s syndrome, Shinra’s laughable henchmen, Cait Sith just being Cait Sith, and a crazy narrative littered with plot holes. As it stands, FF7 does not lend itself to a faithful current generation port, and if it’s not faithful to the original then why do it? We have already seen recent entries in the FF7 compilation leaning towards dry melodrama, vainly struggling to justify elements of the original that don’t fit with a more mature realizing of the yarn. By taking itself too seriously, it has at times drifted away from the brilliance of the original.

As long as there is popular interest in FF7, and it serves to keep the Final Fantasy brand in the public eye, Square-Enix is unlikely to completely close the door on the possibility of a remake, at least not openly. However, I don’t think we will ever see a full return. After all, why would Square-Enix want a costly and time consuming upgrade when the original is still financially viable, raking in profits from PSN on the back of development costs that have long since paid for themselves. Still, when it comes to Final Fantasy I’ve learnt to never say never.

When Final Fantasy was first developed by Hironobu Sakaguchi in 1987, it was intended to be his last hurrah in the industry, a final farewell from a company facing bankruptcy. The series was an instant hit and has gone from strength to strength, making a mockery of its theme of finality in the process. There has never been anything final about the series, and FF7 stands out as being guiltiest of perpetuating the misnomer of conclusiveness. But I for one hope that the story of Cloud and co. and their battle for the planet will soon be laid to rest, once and for all. It is time for this particular Fantasy to step aside. Finally.

Related posts:

1. Final Fantasy XIV TGS 09 Trailer
2. Final Fantasy XIII: massive screen tearing for PS3 SDTV gamers
3. Final Fantasy XIII release date announced

Admittedly, Christian Bale controls pretty good.

I just want to shoot him. If I can feel like I actually shot the bullet, all the better.

I’ve played first person shooters for years now. While I am not even remotely good at the electronic sport, I continue to fancy it, because there is almost nothing more rewarding than feeling your bullets flatten into an unassuming n00b’s skull.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it one thousand more times before I am dead: I love realism. I am always going to pick a game that plays like Rainbow Six over a copy of Halo. Why? I love the way a gun feels when held by a human.

That explosion is huge! Run! RUN!

I’m not a gun nut. I have a healthy respect for the activity, but I have never fired a gun into a poster at the range, or the head of a SWAT memeber. The latter should be obvious.

While I have no idea what it is like to shoot a gun, I have an idea about the weight of a rifle or handgun. Coupled with the fact I’ve witnessed them being fired at a local shooting range, I have been able to discern how real guns react as best I can.

There is recoil. Sweet, satisfying recoil. Try mimicking this through a gamepad, and you’re stuck with an ample amount of vibration. If you happen to be using a PC, chances are you feel nothing, and have to get by with simple shakey-cam action. It is not ideal, but it still adds to the experience.

I actually loved FEAR 2. It was the first PC game I bought after 4 years of abstaining from the platform.

The amount of recoil seems to make or break a game for me. While there is satisfaction in murdering someone in an arcade shooter, it feels more earned and more honoured if done in a more simulated fashion. You almost savour the kill in a more detailed shooter. In a more arcade-like experience, you kill. Move on. And forget about it instantly.

You need that feeling of power, and neither the Halo or FEAR franchises can truthfully deliver that, since their mechanics are based more on edge-of-your-seat entertainment. There is a place for that, obviously, but it isn’t in this house.

My question to you then, is this: what style of FPS do you prefer, and what continues to draw you in?

Related posts:

1. Modern Warfare 2: A Cynical View
2. Aliens vs Predator: hands – on preview
3. BioShock 2: review

• Format: 360
• Unleashed: UK (release pending), US (out now)
• Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
• Developer: Access Games
• Players: 1
• Site: http://www.deadlypremonition.com/

Unlike the B-movie genre, its video game equivalent is stagnant. Our industry has Hollywood parallels elsewhere, with big-budget blockbusters and smaller, independent games a dime a dozen. But B-games, with their low budgets, poor graphics, broken mechanics, and hearts of gold, are nearly non-existent. Deadly Premonition is all of these things – and despite its flaws, the game is a veritable diamond in the rough.

It begins with a premise that should be familiar to Twin Peaks fans – a quirky FBI agent comes to a small town in Washington to solve the murder of a teenage girl. It’ll be your goal as Special Agent Francis York Morgan to drive around town, interrogate suspects, fish for evidence (literally), and smoke far too many cigarettes.

But before you can do that York crashes his car in the woods. This begins one of many survival horror sequences in the game. Zombies shamble toward you and you’ll take them on in a poor man’s rendition of Resident Evil 4 or 5.

Just to get this out of the way, these combat areas are easily the weakest part of the game. In the beginning they’re quite fun despite the poor aiming controls. The zombies are odd, unnerving, and nailing head-shots on them is satisfying. However, as the game goes on (and it goes on for quite a while), these sequences become repetitive. In lower concentration they’d be a nice diversion, but as more than 25% of the game, they begin to feel like filler.

The real fun begins once you start your investigation. You’ll take to the streets of Greenvale in a standard police vehicle that, for a while, doesn’t go much faster than 55 MPH. It sounds slow and boring, but there’s a charm to driving a car in a game at normal speeds with working windshield wipers, headlights, sirens, and turn signals.

Deadly Premonition is steeped in mundane aesthetics unseen since the Shenmue series. You can shave, go fishing, or buy some groceries at the local market. Shops have particular hours, day turns to night, and you’ll find yourself checking the weather in the morning after your daily cup of coffee.

The game is relatively linear at the outset, with a handful of “drive to destination/watch cutscene/do mission” loops before things really open up. Eventually you’ll have some time to kill before the next major story mission, and this is where you can start taking on side-quests. Deadly Premonition features 50 side-quests, each tied into truly useful rewards and story elements. Some of the things you unlock include fast travel, better cars, and guns with infinite ammo. The unlockables are a little absurd – you’d expect to get these things with a cheat code or after the game is over. It’s weird, but it’s also rewarding to subvert the mundane elements of the game before they start to drag.

What’s even better about these side-quests is how heavily they can influence your thoughts on who the killer is. Deadly Premonition’s greatest achievement is its engrossing mystery. Stiff dialogue and busted animation give the game its low-budget charm – often leading to some unintentional humour – but the plot and characters shine through despite the campiness. By taking on side-quests, you’ll gain a lot of insight into the town and its quirky cast of characters. Sometimes they even lead into a multi-part investigation trail.

By making significant plot elements optional, the game gives you some agency in the story. It also means you can miss out on bits of foreshadowing, or even a clever red herring. Don’t expect anything immensely complicated, but most of the townsfolk have a simple day-to-day routine. In the thick of a big lead, the trail can go cold simply because characters aren’t around. Racing around, trying to solve the crime yourself before the day ends can be incredibly exciting.

Deadly Premonition’s over-arching mystery is genuinely good. The plot wraps up in a way that, in its own insane universe, actually makes sense and actually satisfies. The investigation feeds into the gameplay in such a way that it makes the experience more fun. The cast of characters are genuinely funny, charming, and unique. Agent York alone is one of the best characters in a video game ever – whether he’s talking to the voice in his head about old 80s movies or being an awkward jerk to everyone in town, he’s a constant source of comedy gold.

If it sounds like there’s a big “but” coming it’s because there is. In all honesty, Deadly Premonition isn’t for everyone. This is a budget game, and therefore requires patience and a tolerance for flaws. As previously stated, the survival horror sections drag later on. The driving controls are simplistic, and the physics can send you careening into walls at random. Plus, the game looks like it came out almost a decade ago, with graphical glitches that you probably don’t even remember existed.

It sounds bad, but in all honesty if you’re willing to give the game a chance, most of these flaws become trivial. No single issue (except for maybe the graphics) ever stands out so much that it drags the game down.

Offer Deadly Premonition your patience, and it will reward you again and again. It’s rare that a game is this funny or self-aware. It’s campy and corny, with a mix of genuinely good humor and awkward, unintentional hilarity. This is somehow balanced with characters you’ll like and a murder mystery that’s truly worth solving.

Deadly Premonition makes a case for the low-budget B-game. In an industry governed by all-or-nothing AAA releases it offers an avenue for developers that want to take more chances. Sure it could make peanuts and fall into obscurity, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything like it.

8/10

Related posts:

1. CSI: Deadly Intent: review
2. Risen: review
3. The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom: review

The poor ol’ Prince has had a rough time of it. The original Prince of Persia is widely considered to be a solid gold classic, nobody liked the 3D one much, there was the godawful decision to turn him into a murderous emo in Warrior Within, there have been a string of mediocre spin – offs and sequels, and the most recent cel – shaded instalment split opinion pretty much right down the middle. But just look at the gameplay in this video.

The best PoP game of the last generation, and arguably the best of the series to date, was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Sumptuous visuals, perfectly judged sound design, an enthralling story that even managed to avoid a ‘happily ever after’ ending, and smooth as silk acrobatics and combat. Judging by the gameplay footage seen here, Forgotten Sands should be closer to that game than any of the others.

After watching the game in action and listening to the devs natter on, we’ve got high hopes for this game. But will looks turn out to be deceiving? Time will tell…

Related posts:

1. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands trailer
2. New Prince of Persia announced for next year
3. Starcraft II: Beta Story Mode Gameplay